On-chip power supplies play an important role in the successful operation of integrated circuit (IC) chips. One design consideration involves how to decouple the power supply from noise resulting from normal operation of the IC semiconductor devices. This is often accomplished by coupling the power supply to a sufficient amount of decoupling capacitance formed on the chip itself.
In some instances, a given IC architecture may constrain the placement of on-chip decoupling capacitance, creating a routing problem. IC routing conductors formed in standard front-end process metal layers often exhibit high impedances in the form of resistance and inductance. A high level of impedance in series with decoupling capacitance is undesirable in the context of high-frequency switching power supplies.
Thus, the need exists for an improved interconnection scheme for IC power supply circuitry.